White House readies California homelessness plan after ousting top official

Jeff Stein, Josh Dawsey and Tracy Jan, The Washington Post

Published 2:02 pm PST, Thursday, November 21, 2019

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Photo: Patrick Semansky, AP

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President Donald Trump walks to the Marine One helicopter after speaking to the media, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019, as he leaves the White House in Washington, en route to Texas.

WASHINGTON - White House officials will soon present President Donald Trump with a plan to crack down on homelessness in California, days after ousting a top federal official appointed during the Obama administration, according to two senior administration officials.

The plan is expected to be shown to Trump within the coming weeks, officials said, perhaps as soon as next week. Trump will be able to select from a series of ideas for how to address the growing homeless problem in several major cities.

One person involved in deliberations said the administration's plans are likely to target homelessness in Los Angeles and could include repurposing existing federal property, but the exact set of policy options to be presented to the president could not be learned. As part of the discussions, officials have also discussed moving homeless people from specific areas and condemning certain properties, though it's unclear if those options will make it into the final plan.

The administration officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal government matters. The push comes amid an intensifying effort by the Trump administration, spurred by the president's directive months ago, to target homelessness in California. The White House's Domestic Policy Council, which is leading the effort, was responsible for the decision last week to oust a senior federal homelessness official who had been appointed by the Obama administration, one person with knowledge of the decision said.

The accelerating plans follow Trump's demands to aides over the summer to do something about the homeless crisis in cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles, an issue Trump has called "disgusting" and a "disgrace to our country."

Rumors of the crackdown have generated concern among career officials at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as among national housing experts, who worry Trump is trying to exploit the issue for political gain while offering solutions that could make the problem worse.

Those fears flared up again when Matthew Doherty, who until Friday served as executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, was told "the administration no longer wishes to have me," according to an email Doherty sent to colleagues outside the government.

On Tuesday, career staff at HUD were told at an internal meeting that Doherty was not willing to compromise his principles and follow the Trump administration's lead on homelessness policy, according to a person who attended the meeting. White House officials believed Doherty would not be willing to execute parts of its coming homelessness plan, one person with knowledge of the dismissal said.

"Earlier this year, President Trump directed his team to study the issue, including visiting areas where the crisis has become most extreme, and develop a range of common sense policy options for consideration to solve the problem," said Judd Deere, a White House spokesman. "While some governors and mayors have helped create this situation only to ignore it, President Trump is not going to sit idly by."

The White House's plans for California's homelessness crisis have generated speculation and criticism for months. The Washington Post reported in September that administration officials have considered razing tent camps for the homeless, creating temporary facilities, and refurbishing government facilities as part of their homelessness push.

Federal officials from several different agencies, including the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Justice Department, toured an abandoned Federal Aviation Administration facility as a potential site to relocate homeless people in Los Angeles' skid row.

Rev. Andy Bales, chief executive of the Union Rescue Mission homeless shelter in Los Angeles, has been working with Trump officials for months and said he believes it is likely the administration takes action in the coming weeks.

Bales has called for a "massive, FEMA-like, Red Cross-like response" to the city's homeless problem, which includes 44,000 people sleeping on the streets of Los Angeles county and 2,800 solely in the "Skid Row" area. Bales also said he believes faith-based groups may help provide shelter and services with the assistance of the federal government. That may be done through access to undeveloped federal land, Bales said.

"I think it's going to happen soon. That's the good news," said Bales, who lost his right leg in 2016 after he said he came into contact with flesh-eating bacteria while walking streets ridden with urine and feces. "I'm not saying I know that's what's going to happen, because things are unpredictable, but that's what I perceive is coming."

While Bales has welcomed the administration's efforts, other homelessness experts and advocates have expressed apprehension about the White House's plan. Some activists have raised alarm about the reported details of the administration's planning, as well as a report published in September by the White House Council of Economic Advisers arguing that police officers could be used as part of an effort to address homelessness.

Congressional Democrats and outside experts have said the administration should increase federal housing subsidies and continue the Obama administration's "Housing First" approach. It is unclear which of the ideas that have alarmed housing experts remains under consideration.

"We're worried about all the things the White House is hinting it may do," said Diane Yentel, president of the National Low Income Housing Coalition. "It's really worrying the administration appears to be using homelessness deliberately as a political wedge issue and preying on people's fears."

Eight months after a gay man sued Palo Alto and its police department for violating his civil rights, a settlement has been reached that requires all officers to undergo LGBTQ training.

In the settlement approved by the city council in a closed-door session earlier this week, the city has agreed to pay Palo Alto resident Gustavo Alvarez $572,500 and send an officer to an LGBTQ awareness law enforcement course at the Napa Valley College Criminal Justice Training Center, according to San Jose attorney Cody Salfen.

Upon completing the course, the officer will then run a two-hour LGBTQ awareness training program for all sworn members of the department.

According to the Training Center website, the course will teach officers about the difference between sexual orientation and gender identity, key moments in the LGBTQ civil rights movement and how hate crimes and domestic violence adversely impact the LGBTQ community.

“This case isn’t going to change the culture within the department overnight,” Salfen said. “But this settlement is definitely a starting point. It sends a message to every one of those officers that there is a problem and the time to change it is now.”

In a statement released Wednesday, the city and police department chose to settle Alvarez’s suit in order to “minimize the burden and expense of federal litigation.”

“While the City and Police Department sharply dispute the vast majority of Mr. Alvarez’ claims and have deep concerns about Mr. Alvarez’ continuing criminal behavior, the City believes that this resolution is in the best interests of all involved,” the statement said.

Alvarez has a criminal record that includes convictions for grand theft, driving under the influence and burglary.

His suit, which was filed against the city, its police department and six of its employees in April, claimed that in February 2018 officers kicked down his front door, dragged him out of his house, slammed his head against a car windshield and arrested him for driving with a suspended license without probable cause because he was gay, according to the 77-page complaint.

In addition to excessive force, the lawsuit alleged that the officers — who knew Alvarez was gay from previous run-ins — “mocked, made fun of and humiliated” him because of his sexual orientation and were “motivated by their hatred and prejudice of homosexual males.”

Alvarez spent two weeks in Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of driving under the influence, driving with a suspended or revoked license and resisting arrest. But due to lack of sufficient evidence, all of those charges were later dismissed by the Santa Clara County Superior Court.

Palo Alto rejected a public record request in early May from this news organization to obtain body cam and dashcam footage of the incident, citing a provision in California law that protects an individual’s right to privacy. But in July, Alvarez’s attorneys released footage from a surveillance video outside Alvarez’ home and audio recorded by the officers.

The surveillance footage and audio recordings not only showed the officers breaking down his down and slamming him against a police car but using it as a teaching lesson as well.

“See how well they behave when we put our foot down?” Sgt. Wayne Benitez said to another officer. “And that’s what we don’t do enough of.”

During a conversation with a tow-truck driver called to take Alvarez’s car, the audio recording picks up Benitez recounting the events that had just occurred, telling the driver that Alvarez is gay and raising his voice to mimic Alvarez’s voice.

While most of the officers that were involved with Alvarez’s arrest are still employed by the department, at least one has left. Former Sgt. Benitez was placed on administrative leave earlier this year after he was captured on video striking Alvarez and retired from the department on Sept. 30.

Benitez is collecting a monthly pension of $9,866 — earning him an annual retirement package of about $118,600, according to the California Public Employees’ Retirement System.

“Obviously there is a culture in the department that tolerates and encouraged civil rights violations,” Salfen said. “And that is extremely disturbing because every day that one of those officers continue to be employed by the department is another day that the agency has not changed for the better.”

As part of the settlement, Benitez is required to send a written apology to Alvarez, which will then be made public.

The police department is continuing its own internal investigation of the incident, so the city declined to comment any further on the case.

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Alvarez’s suit marked at least the fourth time in recent years that the Palo Alto Police Department was accused of using excessive force.

The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office charged two Palo Alto police officers in 2013 with felony assault and battery for allegedly beating a 59-year-old black motorist. In 2011, the city paid $35,000 to settle a suit filed by a transient gardener who alleged he was unlawfully arrested and stunned with a Taser by police officers three years prior. And in 2016, the city paid a Los Altos Hills man $250,000 after he sued the city’s police department and Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office in federal court for allegedly unjustly arresting him during a traffic stop and depriving him of medical care after police officers broke his arm.